Dark Storm
by Agrippa
Summary: What would happen if a young weasel son of the captains was thrown over board of his fathers ship, and found by a ship of hares? This is the story telling what happened!
1. Seafaring Hares

1 Sea Faring Hares

Bolreyneus Vicktington or Bolrey the Hare Captain stared out at the vast sea laying before his schooner. The captains eyes slowly watched the waves rise and fall a almost nonexistent bit of air brought the smell of the sea. The captain had been wanting a good wind to break the calm spell that had been cast upon his ship the "_Waterhare_". If it kept up anymore it seemed he would have to break out the oars, but that was only a last resort. Around him his hare crew bustled about. A plump older hare with a cooking apron on came up with a small bowl of crunchy bread and thick stew and a copper cup full of grog .

"Thank you Viftul." Bolrey said as he ate the little meal, the old hare smiled. "Don't think of it for it's not much, but er Captain are you okay?" Bolrey stared at the hare. "Why do you ask Viftul?" The cooks eyes showed concern. "Well Cap'n you been up here staring at the sea and the crew think your losing your head." Bolrey chuckled. "I see well I guess I have been up here for quite some time, but I can't sleep, and it's catching on not sleeping. I feel restless, but tired at the same time because were not moving." The cooks eyes softened. "It's all right Cap'n, all of us feel the same. It's cabin fever, and it's drove many a sailor nuts! But do not worry wind will find it's way here." The Captain nodded. "Yes, thank you Viftul I needed that."

The captain then turned back to the sea munching on his meal thoughtfully. Viftul smiled and waddled off to his galley. Bolrey downed the last of the grog and questioned himself. "Is this restless feeling cabin fever? I feel it's more than that though, and when I feel something it's usually correct. Something is telling me that troubles brewing and maybe if we got going this troubling feeling would pass?"

After watching till the sun started making long shadows he started to think about the oars down in the lower levels of the ship. Then suddenly something caught the captains eyes. The flag at the top of the largest mast above the crows nest fluttered then slowly started to pick up till it was flapping in the wind. Bolrey watched the dark blue flag with two golden cannons crossing barrels. Below that gold letters spelled out "**_The Cannon Hares"_**. Bolrey smiled and leapt up ears straight up and bound off the bow of his ship and onto the deck.

Whizzing past his crew, he came to a halt under the crows nest, some odd song coming from it. Bolrey blew a sharp whistle then yelled, "Ahoy Flyteye! You lazy flop eared yellow bellied son of a pickled toad come out of your nest and give…" a hares head popped over the edge of the nest. " I hear ya you big buffoon!" The little rabbit chuckled at the mad captain hare hopping around at the base of his mast.

"Oh! You little rascal shut it and give the report on the wind!" Flyteye rolled his eyes and tested the wind, though he could of given a report in no time he spent as long as he wished till the captain started shaking the mast in madness. "Oh - ooohh - ok! Enough! I'll give the bally report!" Flyteye cleared his throat than started. "The winds is at about 5 knots now and climbing Sah! It's coming north-westish so by night which isn't far off we should be going at a good pace! Sah!"

Bolrey smiled. "Good report Flyteye, but if you cough an' attitude one more time I'll jolly well through you over board!" The captain left leaving the little hare jumping up and down in his nest shouting rude things at him. Bolrey came to the back of the ship where there was a some small steps leading up to the small open helms deck, next to that was a small door leading into the captains quarters.

The captain went up, on top was the wheel, a large base with a even larger compass on it , a pail of soapy water and a brush . The captain came to the helm where a mid sized hare with thick muscles, and had gray fur dappled with white, was dozing. The captain smiled then boomed out. "Otho! Come to attention if you don't mind!" The hare raised his head then suddenly jumped to attention at the sight of his captain! "Aye, Aye Cap'n! Report'n for duty! Sir!" The captain grinned. "At ease there! Just asking if I could bally well drive."

The hare jumped aside so fast that he hit the pail of soapy water slipped on the water that had spilt and landed on his behind. Bolrey chuckled. "Hm hm hm, seems that you're a little jumpy so If you don't mind will you jump up to that crows nest and kindly ask young Flyteye to come scrub the deck, and take over look out for a while! The hare smiled and bound off. The captain turned to his crew below. "Ok me hardies! The winds up and about so lets catch it and get the ship moving!" All the hares cheered and set to work. The captain smiled as the ship started moving. "Ho oh! Great night to be a sailing the great blue yonder!"


	2. Blazac the Malicious&Son

2 Blazac the Malicious & Son

Some ways away from our hare crew three black ships cut the waves. The fleet consisted of a fast two mast ship called the _Scabserpent_ and two bigger three mast ships _Deadrat _and_ Redsaber_ flanking the smaller ship. The ships moved at a good pace even though there was no wind. The answer was the many oars sticking out the sides of the boat moving in one smooth motion. "Heee-ho! Heee-ho! Heee-ho!" The vermin inside rowing had been at it for days. The fatigue was running high, but still they pressed on, scared of what would happen to them if they failed.

In the _Scabserpent_ a young weasel slipped and fell to the floor, groaning he tried to get back in to row, but being so weak he couldn't. A burly rat picked up the weasel by the scruff of it's neck. "So weasel quitting already! I think a meeting with the Cap'n is right!" The weasel whimpered weakly. "P-please no! I-I'll r-row!" The rat spat on the weasel. "Oh no! So you want to row? But wouldn't a good visit with our captain be nicer?"

The rat cackled as he dragged the weasel up to the stairs to the upper deck. The deck was quiet, only the captain was there. Even though the rat was big he still was scared of his mysterious captain. Horrible stories of how he dealt with prisoners, run a ways, and his victims made him shiver. A icy cold voice cut the air. "Stop shaking you idiot Grop and bring me the weasel!" The rats eyes widened in fear. How had the captain known it was him and how did he know of the weasel, he hadn't turned once?

The rat carefully came to the captain. Grop got on one knee and bowed his head. "Sir Blazac, I have brought your son…" The rat got cut off by his captain. "I can see Grop, now leave me." Grop left hastily and left the young weasel and his father there. "Uyaz, let me tell you if it weren't for your mother you would be dead. I promised her never to harm you, but you are so weak you deserve to die."

Uyaz cringed at his fathers words even though he wasn't yelling. "Look at you cringing there like a mouse in a hole. Get out of my sight!" Uyaz leapt up and ran, ran till he reached his normal haunts. The places that his evil father didn't know about, where he couldn't be chastised, and beaten for just being alive. Uyaz mind dwelled on his wicked father till he fell asleep out of pure fatigue, and sadness.

All was the same, no wind, no breeze, then the wind picked up. The captain was happy, his vermin crew where also happy because they were not rowing anymore, but soon that ended for the captain quickly made them set up the ship to take the wind. Finally that was done and the crew went off to other chores despite there hurts from the rowing.

The captain was lounging in his quarters when a knock came at the door. "C'mon and be snappy or I'll snap you!" And stunted ferret slipped into the door and ran to the captain "Cap'n er um report from the lookout." Blazac growled. " Well spit it out stubby!" The ferret cringed, and spat out the words as fast as he could. "N - nastystormheadedstraightatus!" Blazac tried to remain calm. "Ferret! If you can't speak normal then maybe you shouldn't speak at ALL!" The ferret looked down at a long knife which seemed to be growing out of his chest before collapsing into a heap on the floor. The captain picked up the dead ferret and strode out. Out side the crew all stopped in mid motion at the sight of the captain carrying the ferret. "Who sent this blithering fool to report on something?!" He yelled wildly, the crew all shook visibly. "Well? Speak up?" A old rat with a missing leg stumped forward. "I sent em' Cap'n! I'm the lookout, and it seems you didn't let him tell you what's happening it seems with that knife protruding from his chest!" Balzac's rapier seemed to materialize into his hand. "What? Are you telling me what I did old one? Or are you going to tell me differently? You had better watch your trap or you'll join the ferret!"

He turned to the rest.

"Well what's up? Your not holding out on your captain now?" The crew shook their heads. "Well tell me then!" The crew started pushing and shoving. None of them wanted to tell the captain the news with him in this mood, that old one was lucky to be standing. "Er it's a storm" The captain laughed. "A storm? You are just a bunch of ninnies" Another voice piped up. "It's a bad one by the lightning and stuff!" Blazac turned to the dark cloud. "A storm scaring a crew of sea vermin! Oh my it seems you all are losing your touch! Well you babes are in need of a bath so when the storm comes I'll throw you all one at a time into the sea so you can remember how kind your Cap'n is!" The crew nodded their heads. "Now get going and set the ships for the storm, then get a nice coil of rope, put a loop at one end and tie it near the plank ya hear! Now do it! Harharhar!"

Blazac grinned madly as his crew followed orders. He then looked up at the approaching black cloud. "We'll ride this one, or I ain't Blazac the Malicious!" He cackled evily then turned to a cringing rat near him. "You there! Go get my son, and if you fail then I'll skin ya and, throw ya to the sharks!" The captain cackled again as the first drops of rain hit his head.

Uyaz was dreaming of a far off place, a beautiful place were his father could never reach, but his dream turned into a nightmare. In it he got into a tiny boat with no oars though it started moving suddenly. Uyaz just sat in it as he went far out onto the ocean. A dark cloud moved over him, and semi darkness came over him, a tingling sensation was felt on his back so he turned slowly till he faced a crouched figure cloaked in a blood red robe, a scarred paw with long claws crept out of the folds of the robe .

It inched towards him little by little till it had him in it's grip. Uyaz tried to fight but his own hands wouldn't obey, the hand started shaking him soft at first then harder. Uyaz yelled out, and came awake to find a rat shaking him. "C'mon the Cap'n be wanting you. Uyaz stared at the rat till it grabbed him roughly and pulled him up. "Get up you slob!" The rat yelled then motioned Uyaz to follow. As Uyaz followed the rat he noticed a dull pounding noise was coming from overhead and that little drops of water were coming from between the boards despite the tar.

"Is it raining?" The rat nodded. "Yep, but not just raining. It's like the whole sea is trying to engulf us!" The ship rocked violently as the rat said this. Uyaz now noticed the far more aggressive rocking of the ship, he guessed he hadn't noticed before because the ship rocked all the time. They finally came to the door to the upper deck, rain pouring through the cracks of it. "Get ready! On my go, now!"

The rat pushed the door open, and a deluge of water poured on them. Uyaz struggled up the now slippery steps, and onto the deck . Just then a giant wave hit the ship, making Uyaz and the rat fall off there feet, and be slid along the deck till they hit a side rail, the rat gripping onto the wood with his claws pulled Uyaz, and led him up the to the helm, where Uyaz's father was.

"So there you are!" Blazac turned to the rat. "God job rat, now get down there and help those other vermin before I skin ya!" The captain grinned as the rat slipped, and fell trying to get away. "Now Uyaz! Maybe now's the chance to prove yourself with this storm. If you survive I may actually start calling you son! Wouldn't that be good? Uyaz? Uyaz!?"

But Uyaz wasn't listening, he was watching a humongous wave hit the _Redsaber_ on the right of the _Scabserpent_. A great chunk had been taken out of the ship, and already it had started to capsize and sink, but not without a goodbye gift. Blazac turned to where his son was watching, and stepped back in horror, the capsized ships bow was coming down upon his own ship, right were he was standing! Uyaz took this opportunity to run for the edge of the boat.

Taking a running leap he just escaped the bow hitting his ship, as he hit the water showers of wood from the crash flew at him. Grabbing a piece, he pulled up on it with difficulty then watched his fathers damaged ship sink, then a piece of flotsam hit him on the head sending him into a deep sleep, with only luck to keep him from sliding off into the great sea. A current came and carried the little weasel away from the storm and wrecked ships leaving him to dream of a far off land where his father will never come.


	3. New Crew Member

3 New Crew Member

Captain Bolrey couldn't believe his luck with the weather, the storm had passed over him too, but it was weaker then. After the storm, the sun came out forecasting a nice day, and the wind blew a nice constant breeze. Bolrey looked around watching his hares at work. "Watch those sails!" He would yell, then. "Keep up the good work!" He decided to check on his cook. Going to a hatch in the middle of the deck, he opened it and jumped down. Bolrey's ship was a mighty beast. On surface it looked shallow, but really it had two below decks, and it was wide. He was in a long, wide room that ran almost from bow to stern A long table ran along it and two benches alongside that. There was no light so small smokeless lamps on the table were lit. To the stern lay a stair well that led down to the galleys. Bolrey walked down it and stopped at the door. The air was warmer with a good smell floating around, and a jolly song was in the air.

"Oh leave him me lassie, me lassie, me lassie.

Oh leave him me lassie for he is a hare.

He'll eat you out of home, of home, of home.

He'll eat you out of home and board!"

Bolrey chuckled as he walked into the warm kitchen. "Is that you Viftul? You old hare, I think you were off a note!" The hare turned to look at Bolrey, he had a solid stare that would put a cat out business, then slowly a grin crept onto his face till it blossomed into a full out ear-to-ear laughter lined smile. "Oh ho ho! Yes it is me, and If I'm not mistaken but you can't sing so well yourself!" The old friends rolled on the ground in fits of laughter.

"He he, yes I can't sing but nothing like you!"

"Ha ha, no it is you who can't sing!"

This went on till Flyteye came in, a puzzled look on his face. "To much rum I see! Now to attention there you giggling babes!" Bolrey looked up at the look-out. "Ex- he he excuse me?" Bolrey got up with difficulty. "Oh ha ha! Very funny Flyteye, but I'm the Cap'n here! So any way what are you doing down here? Ears straight, chest out, hands to the side there we are, now report!"

"Sah! There is a vermin in the ocean off the portside! The crew are waiting for you before they kill it! Sah!" Bolrey eyes flashed. "Well lead away to the beast Flyteye!" Flyteye dashed out of the door closely tailed by the captain, with chubby Viftul waddling behind. They came up onto the deck to find the whole crew on the left end of the boat. As the captain neared he heard mutters all around.

"Is it a vermin?"

"Yes it is! Can't ya see?"

"Look at it. Is it dead?"

"No it's breathing. Wish it wasn't."

"It's a weasel! Isn't it?"

"Look at that oaf Otho protecting it!"

Bolrey couldn't take it anymore. "Well move aside, and let your captain see!" They slowly moved apart letting there captain see. Bolrey looked at the burly Otho who had a face of fury, and was dripping wet then to the unconscious weasel in tattered clothes in his arms. Bolrey sighed deeply. "Otho, get that thing dry, and into my bed. Then come down to the kitchen so you can explain. The rest of you get back to yer duties!"

"What happened Otho?" Otho turned to the captain, and started. "Well little Flyteye sees this black thing in the water, and after awhile it floated near enough to be seen, and the crew saw it was a vermin, and wanted to kill it on the spot, but Flyteye was the smart one, and went off to get you. Well the creature was slipping off the piece of wood it was on, and I dove in to get it before it fell in and drowned. When I got back up on the deck, all the hares were in a frenzy saying I should of let it drown, and I should have waited for you, but I felt that wasn't right to leave a unconscious creature to drown. I had to fight them off because they were trying to pull him away, and toss it over board. Then you came."

Bolrey sighed again. "I understand where your coming from, and it is right to save a drowning creature bad or good, but still it must go. A vermin is vermin is a vermin, and none of them are good-"

"But I think I can change this one for he is still young. I'll be his charge, and won't let him out of my sight!" Otho could not help bursting out, he knew the captain if left to say his whole say, he would stick solidly by his argument. Bolrey slowly nodded.

"Otho, I know your perfectly capable of caring, and watching this weasel, but what about the crew? We can't ignore them!" Otho shook his head. "I know they don't like the weasel already! Let me have a chance. Two weeks, and then we'll see what they think, it might just be that they are being hostile by what he is, and they will warm up to him after a week or two." Bolrey sighed. "Okay Otho, but one complaint to me, one mess up, and the weasel will somehow have to go." Otho nodded. "Aye, aye Cap'n thank you."

Bolrey shook his head. "Did I do right, or did I just make a mistake." Bolrey asked Viftul who had sat quietly listening through the whole argument. "If you think you did right in your heart then you did right." Bolrey smiled, Viftul was always there with good information when it was needed.


End file.
